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***Official HID Discussion Thread***

96K views 656 replies 112 participants last post by  p1moyer 
#1 · (Edited)
Any questions pertaining to HID lights and xenon lighting system can be discussed here instead of a new HID thread everyday.
A comparison of HID vs halogen headlights
Test vehicles were acura integras with identical headlight housings.
Left car was using stock sylvania 9006 bulbs. Right car was using 6000K 35 Watt High Intensity Discharge 9006 bulbs.
stock left car

hid right car

side by side

side by side with the high beams on

stock high beams on left acura vs 12000K H1 35 watt HID bulbs on right acura
 
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#3 ·
Some more info about HID's, the higher up the kelvin scale (K) you go, the brighter the light gets but it also decreases the amount of light that actually lights up the road. Generally speaking, 4300K to 8000K is acceptable for normal street driving headlights. 3000K is common for fog lights.
Another piece of information is that it is illegal to put HID lights into stock reflector housing headlights. They need to be put into projectors so the glare doesn't blind other drivers. Some people have put HID's in reflectors with no problem however.
 
#4 ·
A common misconception about HID's is that the "K" rating does not represent the light output. The "temperature" of the bulb is just its color.

Red is a very hard color for the eye to see, and the further an HID moves past white, into blue, then purple. the more strain on the eye.

8000k is acceptable for most driving conditions, but i would stick to 6000k at the most for those looking for good visible light output.
 
#5 ·
I love my 8000Ks...

If I do go with projectors in the future, I'll probably run 8000K lows and 6000K highs.
 
#7 ·
Excellent, that will be what I require if I want high beams.

I never use them cause my 8000Ks in my stock housings are more than bright enough...
 
#9 ·
Second.
 
#12 ·
I have a question. when you put HID bulbs in do you get a light on the dash saying that you have a burned out bulb? or anything like that? I see when shopping around for HID kits there is an option For vehicle with on-board computer warning display to disable it. Do we need that with cobalts?
 
#17 ·
I never got that light, but since i'm in Canada it is obligatory to have DRL's (headlights on or parking lights on during the day), so when i turn my car on, the HID's go on. I have the hi/lo (bi xenon) kit.
 
#18 ·
interesting. so what if i buy a ballast kit thingy that has this option -

"disable On-board Computer Warning Feature"

would that help the situation at all?
 
#19 ·
I don't live in canada and my HIDs never turned on any light. Maybe its cause I used a bigger fuse for the light. I used 20amp like the directions said, instead of 10amp.
 
#27 ·
I'm thinking I'm gonna get the option just for giggles to see what happens unless someone can give a solid answer on this stuff lol
 
#29 ·
First off no light for the cobalt, if you don't unhook the drl fuse it will break the ballast because drls run at a lower power than headlights they are just there to say i'm here not light the road up. I asked the dude that sells them on here thats what he said. And he sells the item to override it so you can still drive with the drls on and not break the ballast. There not $ either.
 
#28 ·
Never, ever had a dash light come on for my lack of DRL fuse.
 
#30 ·
I want to purchase some HID's and i already picked my color but how do i know what size ? and should i try and do it myself ( i have always paid to have stuff fixed or done to my car i really dont know much on how to do things lol )?? thanks for the help
 
#32 ·
If they're stock headlights, then it'll be a 9007 bulb.
 
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